Data Collection

We employed a hybrid study design that included a two-arm randomized clinical trial (RCT) along with an additional observational comparison group. The Tai Chi naïve group included sixty healthy older participants, aged 50–79 years, living within the Greater Boston area, and reporting no regular Tai Chi practice within the past 5 years. Subjects were either randomized to 6 months of Tai Chi or usual care. Subjects came in for a baseline visit along with 3 month and 6 month follow-ups. The Tai Chi expert group consisted of twenty-seven healthy, older, aged 50-79 years, adults currently engaged in an active Tai Chi training regimen, each with at least 5 years of Tai Chi experience. The expert group was tested only at their baseline visit.

Steady-state gait dynamics were assessed during over ground walking at preferred speed. Subjects walked along a long corridor (48m or 23m) that was wide enough (5m) to enable smooth turning. To record consecutive stride-to-stride durations, subjects had foot-switches (Mega Elektronika, Inc) inserted into their shoes, and the ME6000 data acquisition monitor attached to their waist. To collect the sufficient number of steps required for complexity measures, approximately 10 minutes of continuous walking was completed. Some instances had to be recorded in two parts, with file names ending with P1 and P2.

Data Files

The data files are provided in standard WFDB format, named:

SXXX_VY(_PZ) - for non-masters

SXXX_master(_PZ) - for masters

where XXX is the subject number, Y is the visit number, and Z is the recording part for instances that had to be recorded in two segments. Group allocation by Subject ID with age, gender, BMI, visit, trail making time, category fluency, hallway length, number of laps, and distance walked, can be found in the accompanying file: TCPCHA_Subjects.csv.

Contributors

This data was contributed by Brian J Gow (bgow[at]bidmc.harvard.edu), and Peter Wayne (pwayne[at]partners.org).